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Munster Rugby

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The Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch (also known as Munster Rugby) is one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Munster. The branch is also responsible for the Munster team, which plays in national and international competitions. It was founded in 1879.

Munster play most of their games at Thomond Park in Limerick which has a capacity of 12,000 (to be increased to 26,000)). They also play in Musgrave Park in Cork where the capacity is 8,000. Crowds at Thomond Park are famed for their support and their silence during kicks at goal, and the Munster spirit is perhaps best shown by the local phrase, "We don't do that sort of thing".

The Munster selection is drawn from local clubs like Shannon, Cork Constitution, Garryowen, and Young Munster. These clubs play in the All-Ireland League competition.

The 'three crowns' emblem used by Munster was a common symbol throughout medieval Europe. It is connected with the story of the three wise men of the New Testament Gospel of St Matthew and was a symbol of the English lordship of Ireland until replaced during the reign of Henry VIII. In 2003 a stag's head was added to the crest. Stags have been associated with Munster folklore as far back as the 11th century.

Munster versus All Blacks

Munster are the only Irish side ever to have beaten New Zealand. The 12-0 victory occurred on 31 October 1978 at Thomond Park. Christy Cantillon scored a try with Tony Ward converting. Then Ward added a drop goal in each half.

The game is immortalised by a stage play Alone It Stands by John Breen and a book Stand Up and Fight: When Munster Beat the All Blacks by Alan English. While some consider this to be exaggerated bragging, both productions have been commercially successful.

Munster also drew with the All Blacks in 1973.

Recent History - Heineken Cup

Munster were previously called 'the best side never to have won the Heineken Cup'. They also hold the distinction of never losing a Heineken Cup game in their home "Fortress Thomond Park". They reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals in 1998/1999, after three years of not being able to get out of the group stages. This led them to their first appearance in the competition's final in 1999/2000, where they lost by one point to Northampton at Twickenham. Nevertheless, that season was most memorable with a fantastic win over Toulouse 25-31 in Bordeaux.

Their good form and bad luck continued in the following year (2000/2001) with a semi-final defeat to Stade Français, again by one point.

In 2001/2002 Munster lost the last match of their pool in Castres,but qualified as best runners-up. Munster beat Stade Français 16-14 in Paris. The only try of the game coming from Anthony Horgan. It was then on to Béziers to meet Castres for the semi-final. Munster were triumphant and we were on our way to the Millennium Stadium and to the final to meet the reigning champions, Leicester. Munster lost a tight game remembered as 'the hand of Back' final as Leicester flanker used his hand illegally in a scrum when Munster had a last-chance attack.

In 2002/2003, they reached the quarter-finals after a win against Gloucester, later issued on DVD under the title "The Miracle Match". In this game, Munster needed to win by a margin of at least 27 points and score a minimum of four tries. They won 33-6 with four tries in a game that has become part of Munster rugby folklore. They faced Leicester at Welford Road and defeated the reigning champions to progress to the semi-finals. They faced Toulouse in the semi-finals and lost out on a place in the final after losing by a single point in France.

In 2003/2004 it was more of the same. After an assured performance in the Pool stage they defeated Stade Français at Thomond Park to set up a semi-final date with English champions Wasps, but they were again undone in the last four minutes when a late surge by Wasps resulted in a Wasps v Toulouse final.

In 2004/2005, after a shaky performance in the Pool stage, they qualified as 5th seeds and played Biarritz away. The match was played at Real Sociedad's ground, the Anoeta Stadium, in San Sebastián in Spain — the first Heineken Cup game ever played in Spain. Biarritz won 19-10 to avenge a 38-29 defeat at the same stage in 2001.

In 2005/2006, in order to qualify from the pool stage, they needed to beat Sale Sharks at Thomond park. Unlikely though it seemed, to win the pool they needed to score four tries and avoid giving Sale a bonus point. This they did in some style, scoring a try in injury time to win the match 31-9 and reach the quarter-finals. To add to the drama, the team qualified for a home quarter-final thanks to Leinster beating Bath the following day. This was achieved not just by Leinster winning the away fixture, but by their denying the home side a bonus point as well. Their "home" quarter final was, slightly controversially, played in Lansdowne Road in Dublin against Perpignan. Munster eventually won the game 19-10 to set up a semi-final against arch rivals Leinster, which they won convincingly by 30 points to 6 in front of an ecstatic crowd. They would return to the Millennium Stadium for the final against Biarritz which they won 23-19 to become European champions for the first time. Therefore, in 2006 they finally won the Heineken Cup.

Record attendances

Munster have played in all games holding attendance records in the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup. These are:

  • Final. 2002, v Leicester, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - 74,600
  • Semi-final. 2004, v London Wasps, Lansdowne Road, Dublin - 49,500
  • Quarter-final. 2006, v Perpignan, Lansdowne Road, Dublin - 49,500

Munster's 2005 quarter-final against Biarritz Olympique in Estadio Anoeta, played as it was across the border in San Sebastián, with an attendance of 32,000 also set the record for the biggest rugby match ever played in Spain.

Their 2005 Celtic League game against Leinster at the RDS, with an attendance of 14,000, held the record for that competition until it was beaten on April 18th 2006 by The Ospreys and The Scarlets at the Liberty Stadium.

Provincial honours

Munster Squad 2005/06

Former players

Senior Clubs

Major Club Competitions

Schools Cups

References

  • English, A, (2005) Alone it stands, Random House, London
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